Warnings as swine virus spreads

A top European Union official has warned against travel to areas hit by an outbreak of swine flu, amid growing concern over the spread of the virus.

Experts suspect it has killed more than 100 people in Mexico. Cases have also been found in Canada, the US and on Monday in Spain.

At least five other nations are testing patients for possible swine flu.

President Barack Obama said the cases in the US were a cause for concern but not alarm.

World Health Organization experts are meeting later to discuss the global threat posed by the virus.

The UN has warned that the virus has the potential to become a pandemic. But it says the world is better prepared than ever to deal with the threat.

SWINE FLU
Swine flu is a respiratory disease thought to spread through coughing and sneezing
Symptoms mimic those of normal flu - but in Mexico more than 100 people have died
Good hygiene like using a tissue and washing hands thoroughly can help reduce transmission



The EU has called an emergency meeting of health ministers to discuss the situation and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he was monitoring the situation closely.

EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said people should avoid travelling to virus-hit parts of Mexico and the US unless it was "very urgent".

On Sunday, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said suspected swine flu cases in his country had risen to 1,614.

Of the 103 deaths in Mexico, only 20 are so far confirmed to have been caused by the new virus.




There are 20 confirmed cases in the US, six in Canada and one in Spain, the first case in Europe. In most cases outside Mexico, people have been only mildly ill and have made a full recovery.

In other developments:

• Tests are also being carried out on individuals or groups in New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Britain and Israel who fell ill following travel to Mexico

• A top US health official has warned that there could be "more severe cases" to come

• Shares in airlines have fallen sharply on fears about the economic impact of the outbreak

'Evolving picture'

Health experts say the virus comes from the same strain that causes seasonal outbreaks in humans. But they say this newly-detected version contains genetic material from versions of flu which usually affect pigs and birds.

FLU PANDEMICS
1918: The Spanish flu pandemic remains the most devastating outbreak of modern times - infecting up to 40% of the world's population and killing more than 50m people, with young adults particularly badly affected
1957: Asian flu killed two million people. Caused by a human form of the virus, H2N2, combining with a mutated strain found in wild ducks. The elderly were particularly vulnerable
1968: An outbreak first detected in Hong Kong, and caused by a strain known as H3N2, killed up to one million people globally, with those over 65 most likely to die


Swine flu: Your experiences
There is currently no vaccine for this new strain, but severe cases can be treated with antiviral medication.

Dr Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director-general in charge of health security, said all countries were "looking at this situation very seriously".

"But it's also clear that we are in a period in which the picture is evolving... [and that] we have to be very careful to collect the best possible information," he said.

The WHO is advising all countries to be vigilant for seasonally unusual flu or pneumonia-like symptoms among their populations - particularly among young healthy adults, a characteristic of past pandemics.

Most of those who have died so far in Mexico were young adults.

A top US health official warned that there could be worse to come.

"From what we understand in Mexico, I think people need to be ready for the idea that we could see more severe cases in this country and possibly deaths," Richard Besser, acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told ABC television.

President Obama described the situation as "obviously a cause for concern" that "requires a heightened state of alert", but added "it is not a cause for alarm".

He told a meeting of scientists that a public health emergency - declared after cases were found in New York, California, Texas, Kansas and Ohio - was a "precautionary tool" to ensure that all the necessary resources are available "to respond quickly and effectively".

Screening

Countries across the world are taking measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

In the Mexican capital schools, bars and public buildings remained closed and many people were staying indoors.


The BBC talks to people in Mexico City about the flu outbreak.


In pictures

Soldiers handed out six million masks in and around the capital region, where the outbreak is centred.

In Canada, cases were recorded at opposite ends of the country, in British Columbia and in Nova Scotia, while in Spain, a young man who had recently returned from Mexico was found to have the virus. He was said to be in a stable condition.

A number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms, while Germany's biggest tour operator has suspended trips to Mexico.

Several countries have banned imports of raw pork and pork products from Mexico and parts of the US, although experts say there is no evidence to link exposure to pork with infection